In the thirteenth episode of Pri-Med’s weekly web series on COVID-19, faculty will discuss recent trends in COVID-19 infection numbers and will review new findings on immune response after COVID-19 infection and the use of corticosteroids in hospitalized patients requiring mechanical ventilation or oxygen.

Imagine the impact of diet and lifestyle on the human condition if knowledge were power; now consider the toll associated with failing to use that power. This keynote address will look closely at the body of evidence relating dietary pattern to human health and make the case that we are NOT clueless about the basic care and feeding of our species. Endless debate about the details of optimal diets, and an insatiable pop culture fascination with scapegoats and silver bullets, distract us from the well-known fundamentals of healthful eating and forestall the stunning advances in public health that would ensue were we to turn what we know into what we do. Dr. David Katz will make the case that lifestyle is the best, readily available medicine and culture could be the spoon that helps it go down. In the service of adding years to lives and life to years, learn what can be done to leverage lifestyle in both clinical and cultural settings.

Common sleep myths pervade both the community and the medical world. In this session, the faculty will address the science behind them and present methods to manage these situations preemptively. The talk will cover several common sleep-related complaints that present to primary care: insomnia, daytime sleepiness, and sleep apnea. You will also walk away with information about more unusual conditions—such as restless leg syndrome and excessive sleepiness—and how to use questionnaires to diagnose them.

It is impossible to overestimate the importance of sleep. Adequate sleep is required for normal immune and hormonal function as well as for the clearance of Alzheimer-related proteins from the brain. But sleep plays its most critical role in supporting offline memory processing. Sleep contributes to the stabilization and strengthening of memories. It also supports the selective retention of emotional memories, the extraction of the gist of a learning session, and the discovery of the rules governing a complex probabilistic game. Dreams can reflect this ongoing memory processing, and dream content can predict subsequent memory improvement. Dreaming, as a conscious experience, may also play an important role in discovering connections among our manifold memories. Please note that any data, indications, and guidelines presented in this activity are current as of the recording/release on February 7, 2020, and they are subject to change as new information is published.

In this very personal presentation, Chris will share his brutally honest journey to recovery. From growing up in Fall River, MA to playing Division 1 basketball and in the NBA, he will take the audience on his journey from addiction to sobriety. In long term recovery since 2008, Chris will inspire the audience to start the conversation on wellness and educate patients on the disease of addiction. Additionally, he will address the themes of gateway drugs, prescription drug use, vaping and the responsibility of prevention starting with us all. It is his hope that strength will be found in the struggle and communities will come TOGETHER to address the issue of substance use disorder, advocate for effective treatment and embrace the power of recovery. Please note that any data, indications, and guidelines presented in this activity are current as of the recording/release on February 7, 2020 and they are subject to change as new information is published.

Experts in psychiatry and psychology have long believed that our personalities are essentially set from early childhood and remain consistent throughout life. However, new compelling evidence indicates that we can change our personalities - either on our own, with the help of a therapist, or a combination of the two - and meaningful personality change can be achieved as quickly as 30 days. The ability of someone to change their personality can have an impact on their lives. Numerous studies indicate that personality traits influence our relationships, career success, health outcomes, and even life expectancy. This presentation will review scientific evidence and practical strategies on how personality can change and impact outcomes.

This lecture will review the most efficient means of assessing cognitive impairment, common issues in caring for the older adult with cognitive impairment, and pharmacologic/ non-pharmacologic means of treating patients. Participants will receive updates on what medications are useless/useful and what testing should be avoided. This lecture will also discuss future options and prognosis for patients with cognitive impairment.

Improvements in contemporary critical care, including new technology and improvements in life-sustaining treatments, have contributed to a higher rate of survival for patients who face acute, life-threatening critical illnesses. However, patients who survive such a catastrophic event often have long-term consequences of their ICU stay that impact their health and well-being for months or even years. This talk will address best practices for primary care providers in the detection and management of “post-intensive care syndrome” (PICS), the group of health conditions that result from and remain after an ICU stay. PICS can include ICU-acquired weakness and other functional impairments, cognitive dysfunction, depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder. In addition, there are significant social and occupational consequences for patients who survive critical illness. Family members of ICU survivors are also at risk for significant long-term health conditions related to their time spent caring for their loved one in the ICU environment and afterwards. We will discuss the current evidence describing PICS and its impact, practical guidance to screen for PICS and its components, and best practices for managing the signs and symptoms of PICS in a primary care clinic. We will also review several common medical complications of critical illness and their typical treatments to identify opportunities to discontinue unnecessary medications during primary care follow-up.

This talk will review how to perform focused physical examinations of the hip and ankle, emphasizing correlation with specific diagnoses. In addition, the session will discuss common problems of the ankle and hip, along with initial treatment strategies.